


what you do to my soul

by ghostknife



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-07 18:04:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14086554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostknife/pseuds/ghostknife
Summary: Caleb can't sleep and decides to keep Fjord company on his watch. Fjord gets distracted.





	what you do to my soul

Fjord shifted in the grass, leaning back on his hands as he outstretched one leg, the other still crooked beneath him. He kept tabs on everything around him, eyes and ears on alert for anything strange, trying his best to keep thoughts of sleep at bay. So far, Fjord’s watch had been fairly uneventful - not that he was complaining. The group collectively deserved a peaceful night’s sleep after the day they had endured. 

The temperature was pretty pleasant for the night, though a breeze would sometimes run across the field, rustling the grass and sending goosebumps up the half-orc’s arms. Behind Fjord, the fire crackled softly, embers occasionally skirting far enough from the flames to dance past his vision. Molly’s familiar snore sounded through the camp every now and again, catching Fjord’s attention for a short while before he eventually began to tune it out.

Minutes passed before Fjord heard rustling from within the camp. A quick glance over his shoulder supplied Caleb as the source -- sitting up carefully from his bedroll, trying not to disturb Nott beside him, who was curled up under his coat and her blanket. Fjord turned his attention back to the field, concluding the wizard had gotten up to relieve himself. If Caleb had sensed any danger, he would have alerted other members in the camp immediately (Fjord hated this, sometimes, when he was trying to have a good night’s rest; but it was better to be safe than sorry, he supposed).

A few more moments passed before Fjord heard soft steps come up from behind him, twisting his body to see Caleb approaching, a book in hand. Fjord smiled up at the other, waving one hand in greeting.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you, but…” Caleb said quietly, flexing his grip on the book. “Would you mind some company?” 

“No, not at all.” Fjord patted the ground next to him. “It’d be a pleasure.”

The wizard smiled softly in turn and lowered himself in the position next to Fjord, sitting down cross-legged, one knee pressed against Fjord’s. If Caleb noticed, he had made no indication of it as he casually opened his book and placed it in his lap. Fjord remained in place, not minding the little bit of warmth provided by the contact. 

“Having trouble sleeping tonight?” Fjord asked, looking over to the other man.

“Yeah. I suppose it’s just leftover energy from today’s fight.” Caleb paused. “Sometimes, it feels as if I have untapped energy, waiting to be used. It’s … difficult to put into words.” 

“You’re makin’ sense to me. I experience the same thing sometimes, I think.” Fjord knew the feeling. “Almost feels like ... sparks are building up around my hands. It makes me restless, too.”

Caleb looked on with interest, index finger playing with the corner of the book in his lap.

“Interesting.” Fjord wasn’t sure if the spark in the man’s eye was from the flames behind them or his own curiosity. “Was this only after finding the Falchion?”

“That’s right. You said you never detected any magick on it but … I don’t know what else it could be, you know.”

“Yes, I see where you’re coming from. It’s not quite like anything I’ve read about before, really, I don’t know how to even classify it. From what I can tell, your falchion has no arcane properties about itself, but like you said - what else could it be? That sword is so incredibly far from natural but there’s -” Caleb stopped suddenly, eyes skirting away, sheepish. “Ah, sorry.”

Fjord chuckled softly. “I don’t mind. It’s cute.”

The wizard bit his lip, risking a quick glance at Fjord before returning his gaze to the book stationed in his lap. He curled the page corner between his index finger and thumb.

“I’m being distracting.”

“Like I said,” Fjord shifted his weight onto one hand and patted Caleb on the shoulder. “Your company’s welcome. Don’t worry about it.”

Caleb nodded awkwardly and turned his attention to his book, leaving Fjord to return to his watch in quiet. He patted down his pockets, searching for something, before producing a pen. He sort of hunched in on himself, shifting his weight to position himself comfortably and he soon started to scribble notes in the margins.

Without the large coat on, Caleb’s figure seemed so much more fragile. The shirt was fairly loose, but still complimented him nicely, the sleeves rolled up just passed past his elbows. His forearms were svelte, peppered sparsely with freckles and the occasional scar, leading to sharp wrists and long, bony fingers. Fjord studied Caleb’s strong profile, eyes dragging down to his pronounced adam’s apple, shirt unbuttoned enough to show off his collar bones.

Despite his lithe appearance, Fjord knew very well of the strength that coursed through the human’s veins. His arcane prowess enamored Fjord; though Caleb insisted he hadn’t been working with magic for too long, his displays of power were far beyond impressive, _especially_ to Fjord. Caleb’s strength and passion for the arcane earned a lot of respect and admiration from the warlock.

Caleb’s eyes scanned the pages below swiftly as one thumb absent-mindedly stroked the side of the book. Fjord noted the dark circles under the wizard’s eyes, stronger than usual, and Fjord knew Caleb had to be beyond exhausted at this point. He figured the energy in Caleb’s veins wasn’t the only reason he wasn’t able to sleep tonight; he’d shared bits and pieces with Fjord before, of how his past had affected him, occupied his thoughts with fear and kept him awake throughout the night. Fjord’s past plagued him often, too, and though he knew he couldn’t erase their pasts and make it all go away, he knew that sometimes, it was enough for someone to just be there. He wanted to be there for Caleb.

Caleb reached up to tuck some of his hair behind his ear, the campfire catching some of the strands dark ginger to turn them into a more intense orange. Fjord’s thoughts strayed to the idea of Caleb, head resting across Fjord’s lap, fingers gently stroking through the man’s hair until he was able to fall asleep. The warlock wondered how he would feel under Fjord’s hand if he could carefully massage the wizard’s scalp, his neck, his shoulders and perhaps trace the stubble along his jaw, too. 

Unnoticed by Fjord, Caleb glanced at the other man at the corner of his eyes, gaze returning to the book as a small smile pulled at his lips, aware. Caleb bit his lip, considering just letting it go, but they had been doing this for so long; dancing around each other, both noticing the looks and the touches and the comments but never acting on it, scared of breaking whatever was beginning to grow between them. Caleb turned his head slightly to face the other, smiling softly.

“Hey.”

Heat rose in Fjord’s cheeks; he knew Caleb had caught his gaze. “...H-hey there.”

“I suppose I’m even more of a distraction than I thought.”

“Yeah, uh …” Fjord looked down at the grass for a moment, scratching at the back of his neck before catching Caleb’s eyes again. “You look gorgeous.”

The wizard fidgeted in his position, a blush rising in his cheeks and he started to play with the corner of the book again. Fjord noticed Caleb swallow as he stared down at the grass for a long moment, searching for the right words to say. When he did speak up, he caught Fjord’s eyes with his own, blue irises caught somewhat by the amber glow of the campfire.

“I think,” Caleb positioned himself to face Fjord a bit more. “I want to kiss you. Very badly.”

Fjord maneuvered himself closer to the wizard now, putting all his weight onto one hand, the other reaching up to carefully cup Caleb’s jaw. He seemed to be okay with the contact, so Fjord leaned in closer to Caleb, pressing their foreheads together and running his thumb softly across Caleb’s jawline. His eyes fluttered for a moment and he brought one hand up to cover over Fjord’s.

“That so?” The warlock asked, voice low, delicate.

“Ja.” Caleb whispered, the sound almost lost to Fjord’s ears, and he reaffirmed his words with a small nod. 

Fjord closed the remaining distance, now, both of the pair’s eyes fluttering shut and he kissed Caleb - softly, delicately, almost afraid he was going to shatter this moment. Fjord felt one of Caleb’s hands rest itself on his own chest and the other slid up behind his head, applying a soft pressure with his fingers to press each other together just a bit more. For a moment, Fjord swore he could feel the arcane energy Caleb had mentioned earlier, soft pulses of warmth radiating from the wizard’s fingertips to the back of Fjord’s neck. He pushed that sensation aside for now in favor of focusing on Caleb’s lips instead.

After what seemed like forever - though in reality it was but a few moments - a sudden, sharp cracking sound echoed from within the camp, tearing the men from their moment. Caleb bit down sharply on Fjord’s bottom lip, startled, and Fjord accidently bumped his head into Caleb’s as they pulled away, both sitting up and Caleb cursed in Zemnian. Within an instant, the familiar blue-green flash of the Falchion appeared in Fjord’s hand and his eyes darted around the area to look for the source. Caleb acted similarly, small plumes of flame appearing in both of his hands.

There was silence for a long moment, nothing but the sound of crackling fire, a few crickets in the distance, and the sound of the two men’s breathes, Caleb’s particularly more intense compared to Fjord’s. Then, the silence was broke again with the same cracking sound, though a bit quieter this time, and Fjord realised it was just the wood shifting in the fire. Caleb seemed to realise this too, the flames dissipating from his palms.

“Fuckin’ hells,” Fjord cursed, releasing the Falchion in a flash of light. 

After a very short moment of quiet, Caleb began to laugh, and eventually Fjord couldn’t help but laugh as well. His laugh was pretty, Fjord decided, and it was a shame he didn’t get to hear it all too often. Caleb rubbed his hand down his face before meeting Fjord’s eyes again.

“Can you imagine if we got attacked by bandits because we were too busy kissing.” Caleb cracked a small smile.

“On the bright side,” Fjord said leaning in closer to Caleb. “At least we’d never get stuck with watch again.”

He kissed the wizard again, quick in comparison to their previous. Caleb chased Fjord as he leaned away with two more brief pecks, a blush rising in both of their cheeks as Caleb settled closer to Fjord, hands resting on his shoulders. Fjord rested a hand on the other’s waist, stroking his side gently. 

“You’ve come to mean a lot to me in these few months, Fjord. I’m awful at reading people, but … There’s something between us, maybe. ” Caleb paused, chewing on his lip. “That something doesn’t have a name right now, but I would like to give it one, if you would, as well.”

“I’ve noticed it, too, just been too scared to bring it up. Afraid I was reading into things too much and I’d make everything awkward.” Fjord started. “You’re incredible, Caleb, and it’d make me very happy to be your’s, if you’d take me.”

“Gladly.” 

Caleb leaned up to kiss the warlock, noses bumping a bit before Caleb got the right angle. Fjord brought his hand up to tangle itself in Caleb’s hair, deepening the kiss, and Fjord’s heart fluttered when Caleb just about climbed in the half-orc’s lap, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Caleb tugged gently at Fjord’s lower lip and he hummed happily in response. They stayed like this for some time, before Caleb pulled away.

“We should get back to watch before something _actually_ does sneak up on us all.” 

“That’s a fair point.” Fjord thumbed at Caleb’s waist. “We can continue this later, then.”

As Fjord returned his attention to the remainder of his watch, Caleb sat pressed closer against him, an arm wrapped around the wizard’s waist as he continued to read. At some point, Caleb drifted off to sleep against his shoulder, and when his shift ended, Fjord carried the man to his bedroll, settling in next to Caleb after informing Yasha it was her shift.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
